This website will serve to educate the general public on Black people and the Stuff That Black People Don't Like. Black people have many interesting eccentricities, which include disliking a litany of everyday events, places, household objects and other aspects of their everyday life.
Black people are an interesting subject matter and this website will chronicle the many problems in life that agitate this group of people.
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Thursday, March 31, 2011

What's a Free Education Worth? USA Today adds it up and Black People Still Complain

National exposure, free tuition and board and connections isn't enough. They must be paid.

Most of the athletes are Black and most come from horrible family situations. With the setting of the book in a housing project in Brooklyn, we learn that Sebastian is a welfare families last hope of making it big and moving on up.

One has to wonder how many Black people have this same mentality.

Telfair was courted heavily by major college basketball programs, but ended up being a lottery pick in the NBA Draft. His family hit the lottery too, finally able to leave the projects thanks to Sebastian's basketball skills and no thanks to any actual work on their part.

Having originally committed to Louisville, Telfair was drafted by the Portland Trailblazers and signed a contract instantly making him a millionaire many times over. Had he actually gone to college, he would have earned at least $120,000 annually in goods, services and future earnings for his athletic contributions to the school. USA Today published a fantastic cover story delineating the enormous gift that basketball players receive in exchange for their labor on behalf of the university that gives them a scholarship:

That $120,000 represents far more than the $27,923 median grant-in-aid, or athletic scholarship, received by men's basketball players at the 120 schools in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

At Butler University — a private school in the Football Championship Subdivision — tuition, room, board and fees are $42,278 for 2010-11, according to the school's website.

"Forty thousand dollars-plus a year to play, that's a pretty good salary for an 18-year-old that has no college education, if you think about it that way," Howard said.

But more than scholarships, players receive benefits including: elite coaching; academic counseling; strength and conditioning consulting; media relations assistance; medical insurance and treatment; free game tickets; and future earnings power that comes with some college education.

There also are incalculable perks not included in USA TODAY's $120,000 figure, most notably the regional and national exposure players receive that typical students don't.

Zimbalist, author of a book about college sports finances titled Unpaid Professionals, contends that a typical big-time men's basketball player's compensation should be calculated simply: tuition multiplied by the men's nationwide basketball graduation rate, which, according to NCAA data, is 66%. Then, add room and board value.

That would total less than $20,000 a year at most schools.

Lawyer Jeffrey Kessler, whose clients include the NFL Players Association and other sports labor unions, says, "I think it's very hard to make the case that these athletes are getting a fair shake."

How it added up to $120,000

Grants-in-aid: These don't include the full cost of attendance. Some of that full cost can be covered by the NCAA Assistance Fund, which allows additional cash to athletes for, among other items, some books, required clothing and travel to and from home on breaks.

Critics argue that even the scholarship isn't costing universities because, in most cases, an athlete's presence on campus isn't denying admission to another student.

"The cost of a scholarship to a school, to simplify it, is an extra chair in a classroom," says Jon King, who represents Sam Keller, a former Arizona State and Nebraska football player, and Ed O'Bannon, a former UCLA basketball player, in a lawsuit against the NCAA and video game maker EA Sports that centers on the use of athletes' names and likenesses.

Coaching: One way to determine the value to each athlete of top-flight coaching is to allocate one-fifteenth of a coach's salary to each player on his roster. But a coach making $200,000 a year might be as effective for some players as a star coach who can leverage the market to make $2 million or $3 million a season.

As Butler's Howard asks: "What is the value of someone's coaching (to someone who) never plays again? It's probably zero. But to someone who is getting better, then gets paid to play, I can see where that value is a lot more."

Most years, 60 players worldwide are drafted by the NBA, and another 200 or so college players might move on to minor leagues or non-U.S. teams. The pool of players who bounce a ball for a living after college is limited.

USA TODAY's formula, then, used the price of private, basketball training facilities that some college players attend to prepare for the NBA and that some NBA players use to polish their skills.

Three elite centers placed the cost of one year of full-time basketball and conditioning training at $60,000-$80,000.

But for economist Zimbalist, coaching is analogous to "on-the-job training," which is what workers in many industries receive to enhance their skills or job promotion chances. It's not considered pay. Zimbalist wouldn't consider coaching as an added value.

General administrative support, equipment, uniforms, marketing and promotion: These categories provide athletes with a range of $7,000 to $15,000 of value a year.

Players go through as many as six pairs of sneakers a season. Almost all players take advantage of dedicated academic counselors, to whom non-athletes don't have access. There are sports media relations staffers and the publicity content they produce.

Medical and insurance premiums: The dollar amount of this is surprisingly small; hundreds of dollars in most institutions, up to $1,200 in others. But the value is huge.

Missouri forward Justin Safford tore a knee ligament last year, requiring surgery. His says his medical bills, including rehab, were covered by the university. A typical Mizzou student wouldn't get such care.

"I was rehabbing seven days a week, sometimes twice a day," Safford says. "I didn't have to go to a physical therapist. I was with our trainer every single day."

Lawyer Kessler scoffs at this. "(Colleges) keep (players) healthy while they're on the team," he says. "It's just to keep them playing."

Game tickets: By NCAA rules, each player can have up to four complimentary admissions for each of his team's regular-season games, home and away. Not all players use all their tickets. But at popular programs, this can amount to more than $2,000 in value. And that's before conference and NCAA tournament play, when the admissions allotment grows to six a player.

Future earnings: U.S. Census data show that workers with "some college" earn $6,500 a year more than workers with a high school diploma only.

In many cases, big-time college basketball players wouldn't be on a campus without their athletic scholarship. Many, of course, don't graduate.

As Howard says: "If you're talking strictly of someone that's going to be one (year in school) or two and done, it's sort of hard to put into numbers how much that's going to be worth if they don't ever go back and finish an education."

But those who do get a degree could, census data show, expect a nearly $20,000 a year value over that of someone with a high school degree.

Exposure: This isn't included in the $120,000 figure. It's too difficult to quantify the value of exposure that players receive via television, radio, print and the Internet and by being personalities in their respective markets.

Matt Balvanz, director of analytics for Chicago-based Navigate Marketing, says men's basketball players at top-100 programs — from an average member of an eight-man playing rotation to a standout on a high-profile team — can receive exposure value from $150,000 to $630,000 a season. He based those figures on the values that sponsors receive for the impressions their names or logos garner during a televised game and secondary exposure through highlights, etc.

Former Pittsburgh and all-Big East forward Jason Matthews, who played from 1987 to 1991, is a case in point. A Los Angeles native, he figures his exposure as a collegian helped pave the way for his career as CEO of a real estate investment and consulting firm that's based in Pittsburgh.

Matthews figures he played 120 games during his college career, with each contest lasting two hours, and his name and face on display throughout.

"How much does it cost Procter & Gamble to buy an ad on ESPN?" he says. "That's how I always looked at it, the value of the TV exposure to me."

"I try to make myself available for them, to kind of get to know them and them to know me, because those are the people that are hiring," he says. "The general student body, they don't get to shake hands and rub elbows with some of the people that I get to."

Earning a scholarship to a major university to play college basketball is a right, not a privilege. That the majority of major college basketball players are Black (60 percent), and that the majority of these Black players come from homes that suffer from income inequality is precisely the reason that paying amateur athletes is even a debate.

The NBA Draft has only two rounds consisting of thirty selections for a total of 60 players selected each year. 68 teams competed in March Madness alone this year, and each team has 12 - 14 players. That 816- 952 players playing in the NCAA Tournament that could, theoretically, vie for one of those coveted 60 NBA Draft slots.

Knowing how bad the unemployment rate is for young Black people with only a high school degree (even with a college degree), these Black college basketball players should be excited that their talents have enabled them to a free education.

Considering how Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) degrees are currently worth to potential employers and on the free market, these Black college basketball players should be ecstatic about the exposure they get at Predominately White Institutions (PWI), access to rich and influential alumni for potential future employment and connections, and a degree.

Black intellectuals like William Rhoden and Dr. Boyce Watkins believe that Black people are being taken advantage of by major college basketball (and football) programs and that their labor is akin to that of the slave.

As the USA Today article makes perfectly clear, these predominately Black college basketball players have opportunities presented to them that normal students attending classes could only dream of attaining.

That Black college basketball players fail to graduate and take advantage of the name recognition they earn by representing their school and the connections they make is entirely their fault. After all, the primary reason they are attending a major university is because of their athletic ability.

Most of the time, their academic capabilities are of secondary concern.

College athletes should not be paid. The opportunity to earn a degree in exchange for four years of service on the basketball court is a proposition that once was viewed as payment enough.

In Black Run America (BRA), such an opportunity is viewed as discriminatory against the potential earnings of predominately Black athletes. That many Black college basketball players get paid by boosters and end up landing their college team on probation is of little concern.

College sports, like most things in BRA, cannot be reformed. They must collapse on themselves.

Telfair's talents were able to get him to the NBA without having to go through college. His lottery selection helped enable his family to leave the ghetto. Such is not the case for most Black basketball players.

Their athletic talents can get them to college (where they can earn a degree for free), but not to the NBA.

That they fail to earn a degree and take advantage of the many opportunities USA Today delineates is entirely their fault. But in Black Run America (BRA) any negative situation a Black person finds themselves in is anyone's fault but their own.

28 comments:

Professor Snape
said...

Although tangential to the point of your entry, I believe this is relevant: I have to admit that I am more than a little perplexed by the sports obsession on this blog. Sports is a hobby, entertainment. It does not make the world go 'round.

I imagine the response to this criticism would be that blacks use their seemingly intrinsic athletic ability as leverage, but what does that have to do with you? Even if it were true, or that you believe blacks' worth is predicated upon athletic ability, or whatever you think, it just seems as if you criticize the sports culture for nothing else besides that it is black dominated. Which is not a criticism, but an emotion-based gripe.

Pardon me, but it makes you sound bitter, and that you - or whoever you feel you represent - feel that you did not get a big enough slice of the pie.

Honestly, man, sports? Libya is on the verge of war with other nations and you care about sports? This, coupled with the repeated references to 80s movies, comic books, hell, cake mix (?), forces me to question the intellectual standing of this site.

Sports is for blockheads, and blockheads typically play sports; I seriously question the depth of people who sit around watching ESPN all day or drive around with Broncos or Raiders bumper stickers. Black or white, you cannot have some expectation of a higher "intelligence" level on the part of any player, nor should you be surprised that they struggle with anything that does not have to do with movement.

For the first time in a long time I disagree with you. Most of these athletes have no chance of making it in the professional world. From time to time, college does help their standing in the sports world. Would LeBron James be wealthier, a better bball player, etc, if he had attended UNC for 4 years? Definitely not wealthier, and probably not better.

It would be nice if it wasn't a non-issue, wouldn't it? But, unfortunately the corrupt entertainment worshiping culture that this society has become makes it an issue.

I agree with you that sports is largely a diversion from reality, but millions upon millions live their pathetic lives vicariously through their "sports hero's".

All that SBPDL is doing is just reporting on these cultural trends. I don't see any other agenda at foot, do you? This issue shouldn't be relevant, but the culture dictates that it is.

Besides, I think the cultural engineers want to keep the blacks elevated in the sporting world as sort of a black pacifier, if you will. Blacks, look at the the majority of the teams being black and it appeases their angst at not getting what they think is a fair shake?

This is done by the white liberals all the time, in one form or another. Throw them a bone and they'll stay off your back, at least for a while.

The much lauded "black athletic superiority" is a myth, generally speaking(Caste Football).

I don't think SBPDL as sounding bitter at all, why do you say that? Because he writes on subjects that cultural relevance within the black community-white also. How does he sound bitter. Snape, I think you're the one sounding bitter, bitter because SBPDL is gutting black entitlement and white liberal sacred cows!

SBPDL is merely analyzing and providing evidence of how America came to be Black Run. Thus, it is of paramount importance that the culture of sports be thoroughly and continually examined in order to see exactly where and how the United States went careening off the rails.

I do agree with Snapes' comment about "the depth of people who sit around watching ESPN all day", and, according to some WH insiders, watching ESPN is a huge part of President Shallowbama's daily regimen. It would be impossible for me to expect any less from him.

Snapes, I disagree with your characterization that "Libya is on the verge of war with other nations". Libya was minding it's own business having a civil war where there are no "good guys", and America's mulatto muslim president, inexplicably and nine days too late, over-reached his constitutional authority (as usual) and, under the outright lying guise of "humanitarianism", inserted American military forces into the fray. Libya is not going to war with other countries. Other countries, following the lead of Hussein the Destroyer, are dropping bombs on the Libyans' heads.

"I have to admit that I am more than a little perplexed by the sports obsession on this blog."Frankly, I'm more than a little perplexed that you think anyone gives a shit.

"Sports is a hobby, entertainment. It does not make the world go 'round."Sports has provided an avenue to bring blacks into the mainstream. Without sports, blacks would be primarily represented by mug shots.This is a constant theme of this blog, not sure how you apparently missed it.

"Sports is for blockheads, and blockheads typically play sports; I seriously question the depth of people who sit around watching ESPN all day or drive around with Broncos or Raiders bumper stickers."

Are you talking about SBPDL or the negros this statement exemplifies?

"Would LeBron James be wealthier, a better bball player, etc, if he had attended UNC for 4 years?"

First of all, I seriously doubt he would even be going to school. Second, judging by the stats chances are that he would be incarcerated, dead, or dying of AIDS. Leaving his 18 children and 16 baby mamas to fend for themselves (suck off the government teet) even more.

"I don't think SBPDL as sounding bitter at all, why do you say that? Because he writes on subjects that cultural relevance within the black community-white also. How does he sound bitter. Snape, I think you're the one sounding bitter, bitter because SBPDL is gutting black entitlement and white liberal sacred cows!"

It's OK to be a little bitter. We've all had nasty experiences. If it becomes a trend then anybody in their right mind would be bitter towards that person or thing. I personally wish more people would be bitter towards the leeches in our society- whatever color or sex.

Whites are the largest consumers of media products (recall: Charlie Sheen and Lindsey Lohan's ascension for being idiots - I think it was Porter who even said "Winning!"), and it is not only due to their majority population size. They invented what is known throughout the world as "pop culture", which includes the "sports as capital-generating entertainment, no longer just a pastime" thing. These media products are created by and for whites, and are digested in the collective white gut. Minority adherence to media products is largely incidental.

I say that SBPDL sounds bitter in that he is one of these rapacious white sports fans (if he was not, he would not devote so much time and energy bringing up the sports issue as frequently as he does) who feels "left out" - so to speak - because most players are minorities, mainly black. That is the basis of my criticism, "Dissident"; you'd have to agree that the point-in-sum of this blog is that blacks are not a valuable part of society, which is emotion-based.

Naturally, it takes only a bit of extension of logic to think bitterness is the impetus that drives the sports meshugas on this blog, especially when someone is (1) a sports fan, (2) white, and (3) has an in-the-toilet opinion of blacks en masse.

Larry Byrd was mildly criticized for unintentionally making the aforementioned point known. But he's white, and he knows that whites love sports but crave - at least inwardly - to see white athletes; he also knows the bitterness - sometimes minute - that invariably accompanies this when the longed-for white athlete continually fails to materialize.

The much lauded "black athletic superiority" is a myth, generally speaking(Caste Football).

Hm, I'm not so sure about this. I've seen people mention this quite frequently on this website, and bring up other white-dominated sports, but I have to wonder if it is more about black lack of interest in some of these sports, than a disproval of the "black athletic superiority mythos". Tennis and golf are largely white-dominated, just for an example, but the athletic prowess of The Williams Sisters and Tiger Woods, respectively, surprises no one. Black bodybuilders, male and female, seem more muscular than their white counterparts; is this genetic or luck?

In terms of my "bitterness" criticism, this notion of black athletic superiority being a myth is a definite denial-based defense mechanism on the part of whites like SBPDL.

Snape, I think you're the one sounding bitter, bitter because SBPDL is gutting black entitlement and white liberal sacred cows!

I don't get your line of reasoning here, "Dissident". I read a sociological piece called "Upward mobility through sports?" which delineated the sad reality that many black youths believe a pro-sports career is a substantial possibility, or a career in the entertainment business. The latter is a farce - showbiz is nepotistic and you're iced out unless you have connections. The former is a belief fanned NOT by liberals but by capitalists.

I don't believe blacks are sacred cows, but I do believe they are, as a group, a disadvantaged lot. There is no bitterness from me. I don't even understand how you came to that conclusion. I'll be honest now: sports consumption is for idiots, and it is uniquely male. If you can play, that's one thing, but when you can't and you obsess over them, may I suggest reading? I don't think I am any worse off because I've thought sports was a waste of time, and have avoided them accordingly.

Professor Snapes writes that "sports is for blockheads, and blockheads typically play sports." Is he admitting that black athletes are blockheads? That would be a major concession for a liberal.

I am admitting that most athletes are not-so-bright, in that traditional academic sense, regardless of color. Stupider still are those who consume it from their living room sofas. "Stupider still" is an understatement; if you can play sports, especially enough to make a pro-team or enter the Olympics, you're obviously kinetically gifted (recall: Howard Gardner's seven types of intelligence). They said this about Babe Ruth, that he was a baseball genius. But the vast majority beer-guzzling consumers of American sports - and, yes, they are mostly white - are simply idiots.

I am not shocked by the hostility with regard to my quip. I will assume that most of the people on this website are sports-obsessed and bitter-as-hell like SBPDL, because there are few good white players in popular sports. In this country, sports ability is equated with masculinity, by men and by women, which is unfortunate. As such, I am not surprised by the bitterness from some white men on this site, including the proprietor.

Hilarious, coming from someone whose nom de plume is a character from HARRY POTTER. Well done!

If you say so. The "Harry Potter" series are books, and because they are books, they will always be better than 80s movies, comic books, cake mix, and, yes, sports. "Professor Snape" came from the top of my head because I read these books to my niece. And they are excellent.

To continue on my "admitting black athletes are blockheads" post above, liberals in general have always considered the success of black athletes to be very important. I once saw a piece by David Halberstam (who seemed to write about mainly sports the last two decades or so of his life) in Sports Illustrated in which he said blacks are much better athletes than white. In the very next sentence, Halberstam wrote that this didn't mean white people were more intelligent.

In other words, Halberstam wrote that blacks were genetically better athletes than whites, but genes had nothing to do with intelligence. How is that possible? I've seen liberals attempt this spurious argument many times.

The idea that athletes are not so bright in the academic sense regardless of color is not always the case. A good many white football players from the pre-1970 segregated SEC became doctors, lawyers, etc.

"Sports meshugas" is apparently a real issue to Zimbalist and Kessler (no relation).

"These media products are created by and for whites"a slick half-truth

"Black bodybuilders, male and female, seem more muscular than their white counterparts; is this genetic or luck?"It is simply false. Ronnie retired and The Blade got his lifetime achievement Olympia; now it's back to business as usual with Cutler, Warren, and Wolf winning shows.

There was never much wit required to rebuke "diarrhea" comments. I look forward to seeing whether this site's commentariat has the faculties to deal with a Rootless Cosmopolitan troll.

"Since the first known study of differences between blacks and white athletes in 1928, the data have been remarkably consistent: In most sports, African-descended athletes have the capacity to do better with their raw skills than whites. Blacks with a West African ancestry generally have:

relatively less subcutaneous fat on arms and legs and proportionately more lean body and muscle mass, broader shoulders, larger quadriceps, and bigger, more developed musculature in general;

longer arm span and "distal elongation of segments"-- the hand is relatively longer than the forearm, which in turn is relatively longer than the upper arm; the foot is relatively longer than the tibia (lower leg), which is relatively longer than the thigh;

faster patellar tendon reflex;

greater body density, which is likely due to higher bone mineral density and heavier bone mass at all stages in life, including infancy (despite evidence of lower calcium intake and a higher prevalence of lactose intolerance, which prevents consumption of dairy products);

modestly, but significantly, higher levels of plasma testosterone (3-19 percent), which is anabolic, theoretically contributing to greater muscle mass, lower fat, and the ability to perform at a higher level of intensity with quicker recovery;

a higher percentage of fast-twitch muscles and more anaerobic enzymes, which can translate into more explosive energy.

Relative advantages in these physiological and biomechanical characteristics are a gold mine for athletes who compete in such anaerobic activities as football, basketball, and sprinting, sports in which West African blacks clearly excel. However, they also pose problems for athletes who might want to compete as swimmers (heavier skeletons and smaller chest cavities could be drags on performance) or in cold-weather and endurance sports. Central and West African athletes are more susceptible to fatigue than whites and East Africans, in effect making them relatively poor candidates for aerobic sports."

"Since the first known study of differences between blacks and white athletes in 1928, the data have been remarkably consistent: In most sports, African-descended athletes have the capacity to do better with their raw skills than whites. Blacks with a West African ancestry generally have:

relatively less subcutaneous fat on arms and legs and proportionately more lean body and muscle mass, broader shoulders, larger quadriceps, and bigger, more developed musculature in general;" etc. etc. blah blah blah

Well, gee, that's impossible, since as everyone knows, there's no such thing as race.

Sports as presented today are merely a trojan horse for fostering adulation for, and a (wishful)camaraderie of sorts with those fun-lovin', end zone dancin' black folk. This phase of white culture degradation is fantastically successful, I might add. Don't miss the big picture please.

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Showcasing only what Black people don't like, this site will be the place to visit to learn what Black people in the United States are against and dislike.
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